Of Heroes and Cowards
by queerelenagilbert
Summary: Reality is a rude awakening form the land of dreams where everything seems almost perfect.  Two lovers, condemned till the end of time. ONESHOT.


Reality is a cruel shock, a rude awakening from a land of dreams where everything is almost perfect.

* * *

It all seems okay, until you get pulled down in a haze of ambition and forget who you are and who you really love.

She watched silently, as they contemplated what to do. There was no body to burn, so no last rites. A single ceremony, a funeral of sorts, and it would be over. A closed chapter in a war whose hero would be only one.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and she turned up to see Annabeth Chase with pity in her eyes. It made her want to vomit.

Pity is a horrible thing to receive. But it stabs twice as hard when you get it from someone who receives the very thing you lost. You can imagine, then, Silena's fury, when Annabeth felt sorry for her, but then ran back to Percy, her hero who'd lived.

She sat, dressed in black, like his widow. She heard them speak of his bravery, and his sacrifice and anger filled her to the brim. He wasn't supposed to die.

When it was her turn to speak, she turned around and ran away, right to the edge of the lake. They knew best not to follow her. She wanted to scream, but no voice came. She wanted to cry, but no tears came. Only guilt, filling her heart to the brim, with no place to overflow.

She felt the grief suffocating her, and she impulsively jumped right into the lake, holding her breath. She opened her eyes, underwater. For one second, she thought she saw him, but it could've been her imagination. She stayed underwater, just blinking, until her lungs burnt. She let go of her breath and water rushed into her lungs. Her body spasmed, but she didn't panic.

She woke up hours later, with someone standing over her head. The person whispered to her, in her ear. They said that it was okay to feel the grief, but someday she'd have to move on. She shouldn't have to give up.

She nodded, numbly, and went back to sleep.

She saw him, again and again, smiling and laughing. So, you can imagine her pain and loss every-time she woke up, every-time she blinked.

Annabeth came to visit one more time. She watched with loathing as the silver eyed girl sat next to her, and squeezed her hand. The scythe dug into her skin, a small pain compared to the one he would've suffered. She sighed.

She shouldn't hold it against Annabeth. She's the one who killed him.

So, she cried and cried, in the arms of the girl she loathed at the moment, because the only person she could hate otherwise was herself, and she was too scared to feel that hatred for herself.

But, of course, you already know that she was a coward who lived, a coward who later died.

* * *

He didn't feel the pain, only the shock and emptiness as his body floated down, into a deep recess until he felt the void no more. He felt nothing but the air, until his eyes opened, again and he found himself in a vast field.

It was Elysium, of course he knew that. A land of dreams, a land of heaven, a paradise which few attained.

He looked down at himself, his unscathed body, just like he'd been when he'd left camp, left the arms of the girl he loved.

He dug into his pockets, where something seemed to be burning hot. He opened the locket which she'd given him, a promise of sorts, before he'd left.

He opened it reveal a glowing red symbol, a scythe. He cried out in agony.

They say that, if you have the last token of love with you when you die, then even the deepest pits of hell seem like paradise.

Yet here he sat in an eternal heaven, living his hell.

So, he cried and he cried, loathing his luck because the only thing he could loath otherwise was her, and he was too scared to feel that hatred for her.

So he sat in the Elysian Fields, damned to lament till the end of time, because a spy, a traitor would never reach these lands of heroes.

But of course, you already know that he was a hero, a hero who died bravely, a hero who loved and a hero who suffered for it.

* * *

Yes, reality is a cruel shock, a rude awakening from a land of dreams where everything is almost perfect.


End file.
